Shooting Stars
by cheergirlejami
Summary: This story is the sequel to Moonlit Wishes. EJ and Sami begin their married life with one another. This is what takes place after the I do's for them. Story will center around their lives as newlyweds along with their immediate family and also having to deal with their extended families.
1. Chapter 1

**Shooting Stars  
**

_Sequel to Moonlit Wishes  
_

_Author's Note: For everyone who read Moonlit Wishes, Shooting Stars is the sequel to that story. Shooting Stars is the story of EJ and Sami as they begin their lives together as a newlywed couple along with how they deal with being parents to their children and of course their extended families. I hope you all will enjoy the continued journey EJ and Sami are taking together. Thank you all for the tremendous love and support you gave me in Moonlit Wishes and I hope you will enjoy what happens after the I do's are spoken and they begin their married life with one another._

Here we go…  


**Shooting Stars  
Part I  
**

I entered into the house and her smile is simply lovely and even though I know we have pledged vows of love to one another earlier in the day, I am still amazed I am the recipient of such actions from Samantha. This time last year neither one of us would have ever guessed that we'd be here living together, let alone being married to one another.

It hits me, this beautiful creature is my wife and I'm astounded by her because this woman is amazing, her presence lights up a room like none other I have ever seen and believe me I have seen plenty. Too much in fact given my lifestyle up to this past year and I wonder if I can be the man Samantha truly deserves to have for a husband.

It's not like neither of us have been married before, we both have to others and even to ourselves, but our first marriage to each other wasn't a real marriage. It was something that I had orchestrated along with my father's help in which I had finally convinced Samantha the Brady/DiMera feud could be resolved if we were married. Of course I had ulterior motives for the union, I had wanted Samantha to be my wife and I had foolishly thought once we were married somehow she would come to love me like I loved her.

That of course didn't happen, it has taken me years to realize you can't force someone to love you, either they do or they don't. Plus my take on love back then was tremendously different than it is today. Then I wanted what I wanted because I believed it would make me happy, I didn't put Samantha's wants or needs first, I didn't have that selfless love of where you would put another's persons well being above your own even if their choices didn't include you.

I thought I had been so smart, calculating to make things go my way, which hadn't happened at all. She hadn't loved me and my machinations had made her resent me for the intrusions I had put in her life at each and every turn. But every once in a while there had been a glimmer of hope that Samantha had feelings for me, when I was sure the tide was changing in my favor and yet as quickly as the tide comes in and ultimately leaves, that was how things were with us.

In our case it had usually been one step forward, ten or more back. We never were a conventional couple by any means and I don't believe we ever will be given our history and our volatile personalities. Just when I think I have things completely under control that is when everything usually goes south for me.

Maybe that is why I'm feeling more than a bit of trepidation at the moment. I mean tonight is our wedding night, we're all alone in what has become our home and yet for some strange reason I'm stalling on making that first move toward her, my beautiful wife. I've drained the last of the champagne I had in my glass and have settled in front of the fireplace looking at the burning embers and lost in my own thoughts instead of sharing them with her.

She has come into the room and settled in beside me on the floor, both of us still in our wedding finery, she in her dress which had made her look like a vision of loveliness all day, while the only thing I have loosened is my bow tie which hangs around the collar of my shirt. Apparently she has drunk all of her champagne too and placed her glass to the side of where she has sat down.

The firelight is casting shadows in the darkened room around us and I feel her move in a little closer to me and I open my arms to her, silently beckoning her to me, even though I can't find the words to tell her how much this day has meant to me. Maybe I can show her instead or at least I hope I can. I want this night to be perfect, Samantha deserves for it to be because for all of her denying it over the years to me I know she is a romantic deep down in her heart too like I am, we just haven't had many opportunities to let that side of ourselves come to the surface.

Hopefully all of that will change for us now. I want to reveal my true heart to her, the woman whom I have known from the first time I saw her that somehow she would be the one to change my life utterly and she has on so many different levels.

Yes, Samantha Gene Brady has seen a gamut of things from me, some good, some bad and some plain out horrible, and yet she is here with me now. For once she isn't running away from me. She's right here with me, her head resting on my shoulder, her body relaxing against mine.

Now I have to make sure I won't run from her instead, these feelings I have for her have built with each situation we have found ourselves in with one another over the years and this is one situation I feel like I am in over my head because quite frankly I'm scared I'll muck this up somehow. I always have before when I was this close to finding true happiness.

I send a silent prayer up asking for me to please don't let me mess this up. I want to do things right this time around with Samantha, I really do more than anything I have ever wanted before.

I want so much and I want her and tonight for the first time she'll be mine, no games, nothing coming around to blow up in my face over something she doesn't know I have done and have her leave me all alone again. She has come willingly to me and now I need to let her in, completely in, to show her the man I am and want to be for her.

I can do this, I know I can and I will start now.

Tonight...


	2. Chapter 2

**Shooting Stars  
Part II**

He's so quiet, contemplative I assume; a trait he exemplifies even more so since he has returned to Salem after his self imposed time away from here which was mainly due to escaping from me. I've caused this man so much pain and misery over the years, yet he still wants to be in my company and what's even more incredible is that he claims to love me despite all of the terrible things that have occurred between us.

I've never had such clear cut devotion to me from a man other than him. Sure I've had several men claim to love me, although even when I tried to be with someone else EJ was always on the horizon, sometimes in my face, others barely on the cusp of my daily goings on, but most assuredly I knew he was there.

I wish I could say it was because he is the father of two of my children, but in all honesty Lucas is too and he isn't in my thoughts constantly, making me wonder what is on his mind or what type of game he might be playing. For all my declarations of loving Lucas in the past now I can say without a doubt that the emotion I feel for him is one of friendship, nothing more. Lucas doesn't stir up the passion from deep within me like the man sitting beside me can do with just a look.

I knew that EJ wanted me even when I didn't truly believe him when he would say that he loved me. Now most times with EJ, I can't figure out exactly what is going on with him. He's changed in so many different ways from the first day we met.

I can say he's always been an enigma to me anyway. EJ DiMera is the only man who has been able to capture my attention and hold it continuously no matter who I may have been with at the time besides him. There was just something about him that kept me coming back to him even when it was bad I was always drawn back to him.

Not that I ever had easy time assessing what went on behind those intriguing hazel eyes before because truth be told a huge chunk of my time went into trying to figure him out. My defense had been it was to be able to stay on my toes around him, to not let a DiMera slip in beyond the walls I had constructed around my heart. EJ represented everything I needed to steer clear from, he could ignite a fire in me that I feared would consume me wholly and leave me with nothing left but a burned out shell of my former self when he was finished with me.

I think the fear of giving into him was what kept me going for so long. Denial is something I excel in and when it came to EJ DiMera I denied, denied, denied my feelings for him. I knew if I gave in to him the power he would hold over me would be frightening. I believed I would lose myself if I chose a life with him.

Now I want to lose myself in him, I want to feel him and experience all the love he has for me. I wonder what our life will be like without me trying to keep him at arm's length or as the case has been these past few months vice versa. I'm ready to let go and open myself up to new possibilities.

It's kind of hard to believe, I'm EJ DiMera's wife. Not that I haven't had this title before, but our last go round at being married was in name only, it wasn't with all the physical intimacies that go hand in hand with being married to someone. I had refused his advances time and time again when he begged me to give him a chance.

Now I ready to embark on a new journey with him, one in which we can discover one another in every sense of the word. Yet he has still made no move towards me beyond encircling me in his arms. I want to move forward with him, although I am afraid to make the first move which is crazy since we are married now and all alone in this house which I know won't be the case too very often with our children.

Still not a word out of his mouth and we've been sitting like this for a while now. I guess one thing we both have learned from one another is that our words have been weapons; we have torn each other to shreds with them several times. The things EJ has spoken to me live on long after they have come out of his mouth.

Sometimes the words have been sweet from his lips, others gut wrenching and for me the ugly truths about my character are easier to believe than the sweetness. I have always considered myself unworthy of love, it is something that has been deeply ingrained with me since my teenage years given circumstances that happened within my family and from the men I have sought out during those years and beyond.

EJ sought me out though; he has made me face things about myself that I wished I hadn't and some that I am glad that he did bring to light. EJ has made me see I am worthy to be loved and in turn I want to show him that he is worthy of that emotion too.

I love him, I really do. The road to get to this place in time with him has been a rather rocky one for the most part, but isn't anything worth having in this life the price you had to pay to get there? I know without a doubt he is the man for me, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want him to know how much he means to me, that he is the only person in the world that I can be my true self around with fear of censure.

So if he isn't going to take that first step, then I'll do it. I've always been up for a challenge and EJ DiMera has been the biggest challenge I've ever faced.

I shift my body from his side and place a hand on his face, so that I can look into his eyes and then ever so softly I move in to kiss him.

I wonder what tonight will hold for us and I guess we are about to find out, right here, right now.

Tonight…


	3. Chapter 3

**Shooting Stars**

**Part III**

**Author's note: Had to bump up the rating to M due to upcoming scenes in the story. Hope you continue reading and please let me know what you think of the story so far. Reviews are very much appreciated.**

She shifted ever so slightly and I knew it was time, past time for me to kiss her. I adore her; I really do with ever fiber of my being. Samantha is the only woman who can totally captivate my attention, a woman who can drive me to do disastrous things and despite of all the madness she can bring into my life I still want to kiss her senseless. I don't know why I have this sense of hesitancy, but it's definitely residing within me for some unknown reason.

Well, now truth be told, which is something I still have a difficult time with I know there are several reasons why I'm not jumping her bones. I kind of feel out of my element at the moment and that is close to being borderline absurd considering all my past conquests.

Maybe that's it. Samantha isn't a conquest for me, she has represented a myriad of things, and some of them were not so great. For so long she was my obsession, the vision of my every waking thoughts and many of my nights dreaming were filled with images of her and of what I would do when she was mine.

Now she is mine, I mean we've taken the vows and pledging undying love for one another, yet still it's difficult to believe that it's all right for me to take her in my arms and make love to her.

No more empty promises am I going to make in regards of her and more importantly to her. I've broken her trust so many times so this makes what happens between us tonight so significant. She's given me another chance to make things right.

Is this performance anxiety I'm experiencing? Oh my god, surely not, especially tonight. This is supposed to be the start of our married life and I'm already wigging out before we've even begun.

Seriously maybe I need to start seeing a therapist or something, just not Marlena. Well that name is an instant buzz kill, just thinking of Samantha's parents and how they are not going to be jumping for joy now that we've gone ahead and married without any of them present, much less having their approval will be something for us to deal with for quite a while. Not to mention the fury my father will have over mine and Samantha's somewhat impromptu wedding.

I shake my head to clear those images from my mind and in turn I think Samantha may be assuming that I'm shaking my head no for her kiss. That isn't it at all and before we have a huge misunderstanding on our wedding night I move in that tiny distance that was between us to capture her lips in a tender kiss.

I can sense her begin to relax into the kiss, now she must know for sure how it feels to get mixed emotions, like the crossed up signals she used to give me for such a long time. We're one step closer though; I feel like I could kiss Samantha for days and still not be satisfied. I think my wanting to kiss her for so long has made the opportunities when we kiss now something to be cherished and I don't want to rush our kisses at all.

Somehow I manage to maneuver us around to where she is lying beneath me on the floor since it appears that we won't make it to the bedroom for our first foray into marriage intimacy. Then finally a need for oxygen caused a slight break of our lips from one another which I reluctantly do and our breathing seems difficult to catch.

I press my forehead against hers for a brief moment before I begin to find other places to kiss in her as I start first her forehead, then journey slowly to her jaw, and then to that place on her neck that makes her try to squirm away from me even though I know she loves being kissed there. I pull up momentarily as I contemplate my next move. I want her out of this dress and yet I don't want to spoil the beauty of her in it either.

My decision seems to be made for me when I feel her tangle her fingers into my hair as she draws me downward to her breasts and my hands span her tiny waist. Then moments later Samantha pushed me slightly away which confused me until I realized she was sitting up to turn for me to begin to undo the row of buttons that aligned the back of her dress. Somehow I managed to unbutton the back of her dress without tearing the fabric and when she seems satisfied that I have enough buttons to release her body properly from the dress, she does this little wiggle thing and before I know it she's pulled the entire dress away from her body, leaving her only clad in a scant pair of lace panties and good lord now I can see she wasn't even wearing a bra underneath her dress.

"Samantha," her name comes out as a quizzical whisper from my lips since I haven't seen her like this, even when we made love in which Sydney was conceived Samantha wasn't this sure of herself around me. She has a confidence about her that I've never been able to witness before in these circumstances.

Her only answer was to reach out to graze my cheek tenderly; her eyes alight with an emotion I never expected to see from her after all the bad things that we did to one another. I am so unworthy of her love, so many things come rushing back to me, things I am deeply ashamed of that I did to her and sadly I am reminded of terrible things she did to me in return.

I just don't want to pretend anymore, yet what if this is too overwhelming for her, for me, for us? So many mistakes we have made and then I think of our children and realize for all the mistakes we made we did something right in them. Maybe it was supposed to be this way, a weird twist of fate that decided we'd be parents before we could be true lovers to one another.

Yes, I want to be her lover. She begins to pull my tie away from the collar of my dress shirt and slowly unbutton my shirt and before I know it the shirt along with the tie is discarded on the floor along with her wedding dress. She runs her hands across my shoulders and then they both travel down my chest and then I realize she wants me to shed my trousers too which would make perfect sense as I manage to get out of them without stumbling around too much.

As soon as I'm free of my pants, she draws me back to her, and then somehow I'm above her as she begins to open herself up to me. I slip my hand down her marvelous body and trace her center that's still enclosed with that wisp of lace that has to go and I whisk them down her legs before I tear them off her body and ruin the delicate fabric. When I return to the place I was before, I find her already warm and incredibly wet without me doing anything remotely sexual to her at all.

I'm curious, and I plan to take my time trying to learn about her secrets. I barely touch her and she arches toward me although I don't try plundering her body. She's so perfect, so beautiful and I wonder once more why she would ever want me? I'm so damaged and I certainly don't want to damage her in the process of becoming closer to me.

I don't know why I didn't think of all of this before I asked her to marry me and the tide of emotions raging within me is growing stronger and I realize I am definitely out of my depth with her.

How am I not going to ruin this all between us? I've done it before so what makes this time any different?

* EJami * EJami * EJami *

Sami loved that EJ was taking his time with her, but he was being so gentle, almost too gentle and she knew he was such a passionate man. He had ignited a fire in her from the moment he laid eyes on her all those years ago and now she wasn't afraid to go into that fire with EJ. She wanted the fire even if it encompassed her. Oh god she wanted him like she never had before.

She pulled him toward her in an abrupt move which ceased EJ's cautious movements with her and caused them both to become entangled with one another as she felt a restlessness preside over her. She wanted them to be joined together, there would be time enough for foreplay later on, but right now she needed him inside her.

EJ understood Samantha's desperation, he felt it too, but he held himself away before uniting them together and stopped before he could press himself into her warm and willing body. He was conflicted between the fierce want for her and then there was something else that he just couldn't quite place a name to that was preventing him from continuing onward.

Sami saw the uncertainty flash in EJ's eyes and then it was suddenly clear to her what was going on with him. It was like she knew by instinct what was going on in his mind which was kind of scary since both of their minds could be a treacherous place to be in sometimes.

EJ DiMera was spooked and she believed wholeheartedly that if he could have he would have gotten up from her and ran because being scared of loving someone so completely was an emotion she had lived with for years. It's so much easier to run away instead of facing your fears head on and taking the plunge into the unknown.

She finally spoke, hoping to relieve his fears, "Oh EJ, its ok. I want this, I want you. I love you."

Tears blurred in EJ's eyes. He wanted to believe her, but he had been wrong so many times before. He asked a simple question to her instead since the thought was running rampant in his mind. "What if I hurt you again?"

"Do you love me?" That was all she asked in response to his question.

"With all my heart," EJ answered back softly as he felt a tear fall from his eye and saw it hit her cheek.

Sami smiled as she reached up and wiped another tear that was threatening to fall, a gesture he had done for her many times. "Me too EJ, you have my heart and you don't have to be afraid to show me who you really are because I love you for you. You're everything to me, you make my heart race, you make me so angry sometimes and then somehow you can make me laugh all within the space of a few short minutes. No one else has ever made me feel this way. You make me feel beautiful and reckless and wild. You make me feel free."

"You are beautiful and I love you."

"Then don't be afraid to show me. I'm your wife. I want to share everything with you."

EJ nodded as a smile slowly emerged upon his face. His life really was changing for the better all because of this remarkable woman and suddenly the fear left him. He could be his true self with her and love her without reservation. What a gift she had given him, one of many over the past several months. this woman was incredible and it was dawning on him that he was the fortunate one to be able to seek out all these things about her that she hadn't shown to anyone else before.

Samantha Gene Brady DiMera was a treasure. One he would never take for granted as long as he lived and he would prove to her as much as he began to kiss her once more. Tonight they would finally consummate their love with one another in every sense of the word.

Sami didn't say anything else to him, just accepted his kisses and relished in the feeling of being cherished by him. His hands were beginning to roam of their own accord and she was fine with that, more than fine actually as she felt the flames of desire start to descend all around her being and she hoped EJ was feeling the same way.

Her hope was answered by EJ's groan as it rumbled from deep within his chest, accepting her silent assurance as his weight began to press against her body. Then EJ stopped once more and Sami thought she would scream, she had to have him, needed to have him inside her as simply as she knew she needed air to breathe.

"Darling, you're on the floor. Don't you want us to move somewhere else to make you more comfortable?"

"I don't want comfort, I want you EJ DiMera and if you deny me this I will most certainly lose my mind."

"Then you'll be in good company since my mind has been lost for a while it seems."

"Just make love to me my wonderfully screwed up and sexy husband."

"Well I can attest to the screwed up portion of my being, but as for the sexy part…"

Sami stopped his last comment by a kiss, one that dared him to pull away from her this time without him having to face some dire consequences. EJ was sexy and she had to have him right now, here on the floor in front of the fireplace. Maybe they'd find the bed later on during the night.

Sami's breath escaped her, leaving her body as soon as EJ finally eased himself inside of her. It had been a while since she had sex with anyone, and ages since the night she and EJ had conceived Sydney. She knew EJ was big, she could remember how it had taken her a more than just a few moments to accommodate his girth before, but both times they had been together before had been under very different circumstances. This time their joining was to celebrate their love for one another and suddenly she felt like a virgin again.

Which had to be crazy right? She'd been around the block more than a time or two with men, but this time with EJ slowly filling her, letting her take time to adjust to him being inside her before he began to move it felt like she was truly knowing a man for the first time, especially this man who had been such a huge part of her life from the first time their eyes met.

Now their eyes met again and she could see the love in EJ's eyes for her and that alone had to be what heaven on earth must be like because this time everything felt so _right, _how she seemed to fit with EJ in a way she'd never felt before with anyone else.

It had taken more than a few moments with painstakingly slow patience on both their parts and then finally EJ was all the way inside of her, filling her until she was conscious of nothing else, but him, only him.

"I love you sweetheart," was all he said as he held still for a moment longer savoring the feel of being inside her before he began to move with a purpose all the while he managed this feat gracefully, powerfully, but with that power there was also a great tenderness for her mixed in as well.

"Love you too," was all the words Sami was able to coherently say before she was lost in those soul searching eyes of his and all the feelings he was evoking within her while she held him close, matching him with each stroke he gave her as it grew into something more forceful between them, the sexual tension that had always been present between was finally being assuaged by their movements with one another.

This was what Sami had tried to tell him earlier, this feeling of freedom and abandonment to the constraints they had placed upon one another were being lifted and they were able to enjoy the pleasure they were only able to give each other. It was freeing and exciting to watch his beautiful face as she could literally see the tension start to meld into something more as she felt him push her higher to the precipice where she would shatter into what seemed like a million pieces. She was close and with each passing second she could feel it growing while she uttered something unintelligible to him as she cried out in amazement when her orgasm spiraled out of control and she heard herself call out his name when it finally struck her. She was so lost in the feeling that she was barely aware that EJ hadn't came yet until she regained some sense of being and felt him still hard as he pushed onward trying to find his release within her velvety depths.

This was glorious she thought as EJ changed his angle slightly and he hit that sweet spot within her and she whimpered her approval of his actions and she began to scratch his back as the feeling started to grow once more and this time when she came, he came with her. She felt his seed spill into her body as she managed to help him reach his nirvana too.

"You're magnificent," he claimed as he collapsed on top of her, his weight bearing down on her, but in a wonderful way as Sami continued to hold him deep within her, she didn't want to part from him just yet even though she more conscious of the hard floor beneath her than she was before when she had been eager to have him inside her body.

Sami wrapped her arms around him as they enjoyed the aftermath of their orgasms, small shudders still coming in like gentle waves for them both as EJ buried his face in the crook of her neck as he tried to get his breathing to even back out so he could gain some modicum of control.

He felt her lightly stroke his back with her fingers, now she was caressing his body instead of clawing at it in search of release. He rolled over on his side, pulling her with him as he sought her lips again and he quickly realized his hopes of finding some kind of control were shot as she eagerly accepted his kisses and was returning them with a fervor that matched his own.

EJ pulled back slightly to look at his wife and a smile grew on his face and hers as well when they looked at one another. Samantha was his wife and he was eager to shower her with love. Now that the fear of hurting her was gone, a hunger for her was being placed in its stead.

EJ was going to give Samantha a wedding night she would remember forever. That much he was certain of now. He loved her and luckily he knew she loved him too and that made all the difference in the world.


End file.
